Travel to Abydos

the Osireion is a particularly intriguing site

Set back from the west bank of the River Nile, around 160 km north-west of Luxor, the small modern town of Abydos provides precious few clues that this was once one of the oldest and most important cities of ancient Egypt.

The area owed its importance to the early establishment of royal burial sites, as early as 3150 BC. It subsequently became the centre of a cult of rebirth and was, for many centuries, the fashionable place to be entombed.

Although the main temple and city now lie under the modern town, the upland areas to the west include a range of important monuments, including the Umm el-Qa’ab, the Osireion, and the superbly carved Temple of Seti I with its exquisite bas-relief artwork, rated as among the finest in Egypt.

Although there really is a lot of ancient history to explore here, most people visit on a day trip from Luxor, rather than deploy nights at the area’s one decent hotel.

The best time to visit Abydos is widely considered to be the winter months of Nov-Mar, but we sometimes favour other times of year, when temperatures may be higher, but visitor numbers are often much lower.

Abydos experiences a conventional northern hemisphere climate, with a hot dry summer centred on May-Sep and a warm dry winter Nov-Mar.

May-Sep : Summer

During the May-Sep summer the daytime temperatures typically reach 41C, with night-time temperatures holding up around 23C. Although these temperatures may seem concerning, the relative humidity drops considerably, meaning that comfort temperatures are not so bad, at least during the day. This season can also be advantaged by light summer breezes out on the river. However, given the warm nights, we do recommend that you stay somewhere with air-conditioning.

Despite being ‘out of season’, visitor numbers do increase during the European vacation season, centred on Jul/Aug, so best to head for May, June or late September if you can.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably lower during some of these months.

Oct : Autumn

The month of October represents a transition between summer and winter conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low.

Nov-Mar : Winter

During the Nov-Mar winter the daytime temperatures typically reach 25C, with night-time temperatures plunging to 8C. Relatively humidities rise considerably, meaning that the middle of the day can be surprisingly uncomfortable, given the relatively low absolute temperatures.

These warm (rather than hot) conditions have led to winter being the most popular time to visit, meaning that visitor numbers reach their peak, especially around Dec-Jan. We therefore recommend November to mid-December and mid-January to March (excluding a week either side of Easter), although even then you probably need to deploy traffic avoidance measures when visiting the key sites.

Some hotel prices can also be considerably higher during some of these months.

Apr : Spring

The month of April represents a transition between winter and summer conditions and, in many ways, offers the best of both worlds, with visitor traffic also being relatively low (except for a week either side of Easter)

Getting there

Abydos is usually reached by road from Luxor, a journey of 2.5 hours. The majority of travellers do this as a day trip, but it is possible to stay in the area and then (usually) return to Luxor on the same route, if you want to spend more time exploring.

It is also possible to visit Abydos as part of a river cruise between Cairo and Luxor, although this route is long (usually 10-14 nights) and rarely offered due to security concerns.

usually explored as a day trip from Luxor